Environmental training and cleaner production in Indian industry—A micro-level study

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Abstract

An attempt has been made to analyze various types of organizational training imparted in Indian Industries while implementing cleaner production. The study was carried out in two industrialized states of India, namely Maharashtra and Gujarat. with participation of eight firms from each state. The various sources of training for the Indian industries have also been studied. A case study each from the two states, viz. Maharashtra and Gujarat have been presented in this paper. It is found that more than half of the industrial units have given importance to various kinds of training during the implementation of cleaner production. When it comes to training in environmental management system (EMS), nearly half of the firms have gone in for it. Among the sources of training, the most useful training was the training imparted by in-house staff and on-the-job training. Lastly, suppliers of cleaner technologies seem to have also played an active role in training as revealed by few of the participating units

Introduction

Environmental training has been receiving importance, albeit slowly. In 1993, at a meeting of the Canadian academics accounting association, the concepts of ‘green’ accounting and ‘green’ taxes were identified as necessary components of accounting education today (Banks, 1993). Corporations are requesting that business schools provide education in environmental issues (Barron, 1992). Evidently the business community is beginning to recognize the need for people who can effectively deal with environmental issues such as pollution, compliance and sustainability. Researchers suggest that the provision of workforce training is essential to the effective usage of new manufacturing technology due to additional demands on workers in terms of new skill and relational requirements (Chung, 1996, Ettlie, 1986).

The present paper tries to trace some recent trends in training. It attempts to identify the types of training carried out by the industrial units in relation to the adoption of cleaner production in two of the Indian states, which are among the most industrialized. It tries to identify the role of training while implementing cleaner production at the micro-level. It then proceeds to locate the various sources of training while implementing cleaner technologies. The study also focuses on the organization learning process and tries to look at various aspects like level of motivation towards cleaner technologies, exposure to professional literature and other latest developments and sponsorship for long-term and short-term training programmes. A case study each from the two states, viz. Maharashtra and Gujarat have been presented in this paper.

Section snippets

Environmental management system and training

ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS) standard has made businesses to give more importance to environmental training. Companies can no longer simply use compliance plans to deal with environmental concerns; consumer demands for greener products and services, and operational efficiencies require long-term strategic and sustainable approaches for environmental management. An EMS includes documentation of: commitment and policy; planning; implementation; measurement and evaluation;

Approaches to the present study

The present study is based on a survey using detailed questionnaire and also personal interviews with senior executives of the firms implementing cleaner technologies. Eight industrial units in Maharashtra and eight industrial units in Gujarat participated in the survey. Gujarat is one of the most industrialized states in India. Gujarat has more than 20% share in the chemicals manufactured in India (Rathi, 2003). Likewise Maharashtra is also one among the most industrialized states in India.

Summary of findings of training carried out in all the participating units

Given in Table 2, Table 3 are the summary of findings from the 16 units in the two states of India, which have implemented cleaner technologies.

It can be seen that more than 50% of the industrial units have given importance to various kinds of training during the implementation of cleaner production. Seven of the sixteen units have given training in environmental management system (EMS). Two units in all that is one pharmaceutical unit in Maharashtra and one chemical unit in Gujarat have given

Sources of training

Table 4 show the questionnaire used in the study. This was used to track which sources of training and information on CT have been most useful. Table 5, Table 6 give the summary of the sources of training in the participating units in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The study reveals that only three units have benefited from training, by university and R&D organizations. Eight units have found training by in-house staff and on-the-job training as a very useful source of training.

The education and

Summary and conclusions

It can be seen from the study that though India is a developing country, most of the industries implementing cleaner production have given importance to training in one form or the other. The overall organizational learning process can still be strengthened further in various units.

Among the sources of training, training by in-house staff seems to be most common. The universities and research and development institutes have well-developed facilities and faculty, but as seen in the study they

Acknowledgements

The paper is drawn from the research project undertaken by the authors titled “Cost benefit analysis of cleaner production technologies in India”. This study was sponsored by the EERC for the World Bank and the Ministry of Environment and Forests, India. The authors would like to thank the sponsors and the referees. The usual disclaimer applies.

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